Bystander CPR Improves Survival, Neurological Outcomes In U.S. Children

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Children who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting are more likely to survive, and to have better neurological outcomes, when they receive bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Researchers studying a large U.S. registry of cardiac arrests compared outcomes for two bystander resuscitation techniques, and also recommend improving provision of bystander CPR in minority communities to improve outcomes in children.

"Over 5000 children have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year in the United States," said study leader Maryam Y. Naim, MD, of the Cardiac Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). "The overall mortality of these arrests remains high, but we know that providing bystander CPR can improve survival. Our study offers more information relevant to saving children's lives."

The research team analyzed a subset of data from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), a large national database of non-traumatic cardiac arrests established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The team evaluated 3900 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in children up to age 18 from 2013 to 2015. About 60 percent of the arrests occurred in infants, 60 percent in females, and about 84 percent in homes or residences. Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of the arrests were not witnessed.